MORE than one in 10 adults would not report a murder they had witnessed because of their lack of faith in the criminal justice system, according to a survey.

The report also found that 59pc would not call the police if they heard screaming from their neighbours and 70pc would not report a street brawl.

Left-wing think-tank the Institute of Public Policy Research, which commissioned the poll of 1,000 adults, said the results showed an "alarming" failure of the criminal justice system.

Pollster ICM found 12pc of adults would not report a murder.

The authors found people were frightened of retribution if they reported a crime, anxious about how the police and courts would treat them and put off by the inconvenience.

They also had lack of confidence in the outcome of any court case, the research found.

Co-author of an IPPR report based on the poll, Sarah Spencer, said, "The failure of witnesses to come forward is evidence of an alarming disengagement from the criminal justice system that government must address if we are to tackle crime effectively and deliver justice.

"Witnesses' contribution is vital, yet clearly can no longer be taken for granted."

Only 54pc of witnesses who had attended court said they were called to give evidence on the first day, with the rest having to come back on two or more days.

It also found 17pc had to wait more than four hours, and four out of 10 were not informed of the outcome of the case.

Four out of 10 also said they would be unwilling to act as a witness again.

In a foreword to the report, the presenter of the BBC's Crimewatch, Nick Ross, said, "Without witnesses there can be no justice.

"Yet, as this report explains, the criminal justice system handles witnesses with such insouciance that many people are deterred from coming forward.

"Unless we move towards a more transparent courtesy to witnesses, justice will always be enfeebled."

The IPPR report recommended drawing up a Witnesses' Charter to set out standards of service people can expect, setting up a single national hotline and website to encourage people to report crimes, and the creation of a single unit in Whitehall to co-ordinate witness policy.